Wednesday, June 30, 2010

What comes into your mind when you think about God? The great preacher A.W. Tozer wrote that "we tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move toward our mental image of God." So it's crucial that our idea of God correspond as nearly as is possible to the true being of God.

Certainly, in our limited human condition, we cannot think of God as He really is. But if we are drawing our image of God from the wrong sources, then He'll be too small.

Today, since "spirituality" is so big in our culture, celebrities and people of influence often talk about their relationship with God... but for many, God seems to be a vague deity they've made up, a personalized edition of a spiritual force who exists to make people feel good about themselves.

We need to take care not be squeezed into the mind-set of the culture around us. In every situation of each day, we have a choice. We can fix our attention on ourselves, and recast God in our own image. Or we can fix our attention on God, as the Scriptures really reveal Him to be.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

[God] delights, it seems, in using trees, flowers, rivers, automobiles, friends, enemies, church buildings, paintings in order to announce His presence or to work out His purposes… There is something crude in the depiction of God intervening directly in the play, the clumsy deus ex machina interrupting the speeches of the other actors and upsetting the stage. How much more tantalizing the God who hints and lurks and cajoles hiddenly through and around the actors, even unbeknownst to them. It is the humble God who chooses so to act.

Friday, June 25, 2010

We grow spiritually by obeying God through the words of Jesus being made spirit and life to us, and by paying attention to where we are, not to whether we are growing or not. We grow spiritually as our Lord grew physically, by a life of simple, unobtrusive obedience.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

You don't have to understand all the implications of your decision when you choose to follow Jesus. You simply need to respond to His invitation, to make a commitment to follow Christ.

Your commitments shape your life more than anything else. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you.

Tell me what you're committed to and I'll tell you what you'll be in twenty years. We become whatever we're committed to.

It is at this very point of commitment that most people miss God's purpose for their lives. Many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life. Others make half-hearted commitments to competing values, which lead to frustration and mediocrity. Others make a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter.

Every choice has eternal consequences so you need to choose wisely: "Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!" (2 Peter 3:11 LB).

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

There is no question that husbands and wives are different. The challenge is to put these differences together and become a team. When working out differences, the goal is for neither spouse to win; the goal is to have the marriage win. Differences in the backgrounds of husband and wife come out of life style, birth order, and how they were parented. The wise couple is aware of these differences and makes allowances for them.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender. -- A. W. Tozer#2561

Monday, June 21, 2010

It is important to stress that every human being is called upon to be a healer. Although there are many professions asking for special long and arduous training, we can never leave the task of healing to the specialists. We are all healers who can reach out.-- Henri Nouwen in The Wounded Healer#2560

Thursday, June 17, 2010

… the deceased has removed into a better country, and bounded away to a happier inheritance; … thou has not lost thy son, but bestowed him henceforward in an inviolable spot. Say not then, I pray thee, I am no longer called 'father', for why art thou no longer called so, when thy son abideth? For surely thou didst not part with thy child, nor lose thy son? Rather thou hast gotten him, and hast him in greater safety. Wherefore, no longer shalt thou be call 'father' here only, but also in heaven; so that thou hast not lost the title 'father', but hast gained it in a nobler sense; for henceforth thou shalt be called father not of a mortal child, but of an immortal …. For think not, because he is not present, that therefore he is lost; for had he been absent in a foreign land, the title of thy relationship had not gone from thee with his body.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. He will only do harm to himself and to the community. Alone you stood before God when He called you; alone you had to answer that call; alone you had to struggle and pray; and alone you will die and give an account to God. You cannot escape yourself; for God has singled you out. If you refuse to be alone, you are rejecting Christ's call to you, and you can have no part in the community of those who are called....

Let him who is not in community beware of being alone. Into the community you were called -- the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray. You are not alone even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one of the great congregation of Jesus Christ. If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Jesus does not want admirers, but disciples.Admirers commend the great deeds of Jesus in the world of yesteryear.Disciples know that Jesus wants to be present in the world today.Admirers deftly dodge an irrevocable decision for Jesus.Disciples unreservedly connect their fate to Jesus' fate.Admirers are thrilled by Jesus today and thrilled by another one tomorrow.Disciples cannot undo their change of Master.Admirers ask: What can Jesus give me?Disciples ask: What can I give to Jesus?Admirers love to bask frequently in the light of Jesus.Disciples love to turn willingly to alleviate the world's darkness and misery.No - Jesus does not want admirers;He can do without them.But not without disciples.

Friday, June 11, 2010

The church is in the world to save the world. It is a tool of God for that purpose; not a comfortable religious club established in fine historical premises. Every one of its members is required, in one way or another, to co-operate with the Spirit in working toward that end.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

In addition to taking it seriously, discerning a calling requires one of the greatest challenges of self-exploration and judgment a human being can undertake. Callings are usually not easy to discover. You will have to be ruthlessly honest about your gifts and your limitations. You will have to be willing to ask hard questions and live with the answers. Discerning God's calling will take many attempts and failures. You will have to be willing to let some dreams die a painful death. You did not arrive on this planet with your calling pre-clarified and your gifts pre-developed. You arrived with a little warning: "Some assembly required."

-- John Ortberg in If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Every day we are all faced with making decisions. Some, like getting up when the alarm rings, are so familiar that we act without giving them much thought. Others are so important that they challenge us at a very deep level. These are the choices that determine who we are in the eyes of God as well as in our own eyes. These are the decisions that involve searching our hearts, our attitudes, and our beliefs. Our conscious and unconscious values determine our responses.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Witnessing is not only something you say, but it is also something you do. And when it is done best, it may be summarized in these words: Witness is withness. When you are with Christ, you inevitably bear witness. As you stand in His light, you cast a shadow that touches the lives of others. As you stand with others, you give your witness for Christ. Your care, companionship, and compassion for others – withness – is a convincing witness for Christ who is with you "to the end of the earth."

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Then Jesus came to [His disciples] and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

A vision without a task is but a dream.A task without a vision is drudgery.A vision with a task is the hope of the world.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Our Lord has recommended His love to us as the pattern and the example of our love to one another. As, therefore, He is continually making intercession for us all, so we ought to intercede and pray for one another.

“A new commandment,” said Jesus, “I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you. By this shall all people know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34,35)

The newness of this precept did not consist in that people were commanded to love one another, for this was an old precept, both of the law of Moses and of nature. But it was new in this respect, that it was to initiate a new and, till then, unheard-of example of love; it was to love one another as Christ had loved us. And if others are to know that we are disciples of Christ, by thus loving one another according to His new example of love, then it is certain that if we are void of this love we make it as plainly known to others that we are not His disciples.

-- adapted from William Law (1686-1761) in A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life

Search This Blog

Welcome to SOUND BITES

By David T. Wilkinson

Over the years I have collected quotes that pertain to the Christian faith and life in general. As I have read or studied what others have written, I have been struck by the profound thought that is captured in their few short words. These quotes have been shared through SOUND BITES Ministry™ , a five-day-a-week inspirational e-mail ministry, and now are shared through this blog as well. You will also find us on Facebook by clicking SOUND BITES Ministry on Facebook.

Visit the photo website of David T. Wilkinson Photography which celebrates God's creation. Click on the image below...

Get Connected

How SOUND BITES came to be

During Lent 1999 God prompted me to think about a new idea as to how I might share these thoughts with a broader audience. At the same time, our family was experiencing the first anniversary of the death of our son, Dustin, who died at the age of sixteen from a brain tumor. So, beginning on that anniversary, March 29, 1999 we began an e-mail ministry in memory of Dustin that we call SOUND BITES: Something to chew on that is good for the soul™. Five days a week, Monday through Friday, I share one of these quotes with subscribers. Hopefully recipients find something of faith and life to think about and chew on, which feeds their soul and helps them grow spiritually. Since its inception, over 4200 daily quotes have been sent out. The subscriber list continues to grow numerically and geographically with subscribers in every state in the U.S., and also in Canada, Mexico, and numerous other countries around the world. Currently close to 2000 subscribers receive SOUND BITES directly via e-mail and many others second hand. Now through Facebook, Twitter and this blog we expand our outreach even more. A number of years ago we had folks share how GOD has used our SOUND BITES Ministry™ to minister them. To read their comments click 13th Anniversary Comments.